I kind of agree with you. It's one of the few times Petunia showed real emotions and care. The book had a lot of great scenes in it that i wish had been in the movies, especially since they split the darn thing into two movies.

That would have been a great scene to have in. I also wish they would have put the goodbye scene between Harry and Dudley. That part of the book really hit me that even though they didn't like Harry he was still family and it showed that he actually had a heart.

Maybe I'm not remembering something from the books but why would this have mattered? It's not like his weight is a crucial part to the story, I would've rather them added in some one-liner about how he got fit as he grew up than deleted, as the other person said, his only really redeeming scene in the entire series.

It really shouldn't have mattered; he had gotten fit (or at least moreso) by the seventh book. There was mention of him packing his weights when they were leaving, and that he was more in shape or something.

it's tragic, cuz richard harris was dumbledore, but i don't think he could have done the darker side of dumbledore you see in the later movies. BEFORE YOU ALL ATTACK ME, i definitely think michael gambon had his faults, but he had BIG shoes to fill. honestly, i don't think he nailed the character until half blood prince (he was just about the only good thing about that movie...)

perhaps. if only we could know for sure. i couldn't agree more. i don't dislike michael gambon at all, but he's a human, and he definitely appeared to have difficulty grasping the character. especially since he probably wanted to make it his own without completely copying richard harris while still trying to remain faithful to j.k.'s character (whom still hadn't fully developed by the time gambon took over)

It would be incredibly difficult for an actor to not only take over from someone so highly regarded, but to also play a character who hadn't been entirely developed as you said. He did a brilliant job, considering the added pressure of being in one of the most anticipated film series of our time.

Aww. I liked it...it is awkward, as you said, but I kind of think it was meant to be awkward- how do you say goodbye to somebody that you know you've treated badly, but that you've suddenly realized you're going to miss?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I actually liked that scene. It was... Sweet. Offered some tension release and still managed to show how strong their friendship was even in the most dire situation.

I totally agree with you-- and it really reminded me of my own male friends and what they've done when exposed to socialclash-being-slightly-crazy-and-very-upset... I saw it as a reinforcement of how close they are as friends / how much they rely on each other for emotional support, not just brainpower and magic.

sure, it was cute, but i didn't get it. i guess it would have made more sense to me if they had broken the tension by talking about something else. perhaps fond memories at the burrow, diagon alley, or hogwarts. i guess the dance was more subtle but it just seemed weird. i'm incredibly close with my best friend (especially when it comes to being affectionate/having lots of physical contact) but i can't imagine why i'd dance with her to make her feel better. but then again, that's just me.

I wish they'd kept the Dudley scene in too. It showed that Dudley actually cared about Harry, at least a little. They'd grown up together all their lives (minus the times Harry spent at Hogwarts) so it would've made sense... I found the fact that Dudley had started leaving cups of tea outside Harry's door really sweet. Why they cut that out, I'll never know.

There was a fanfic I read where dudley was so terrified of the dementor attack because it turned out he could see them, because he was a late blooming wizard, and IIRC he ended up joining the death eaters.

One that springs to mind is "Harry Potter and the Seventh Horcrux", which was released before the Deathly Hallows, and was so well done it was reputed to be the actual final part of the series! I really enjoyed it; got a bit too full-on between Ginny and Harry but it helps expand on a relationship that many say started out of nowhere and amounted to nothing.

IIRC the reason it was considered a leaked copy was because in a lot of places the writing styles were so similar. Anyway that's by the by.

Yea I'd definitely consider it (only personally mind) secondary canon for when the Deathly Hallows just doesn't satisfy me. An alternate ending if you will to read after finishing The Half-Blood Prince. The whole talking to dead Dumbledore scenario at the end was so spot on too considering this version was out first.

Yes! They totally ignored this! It made the dudley's so much more real! It showed that beneath everything they still had emotions and I felt like it was so vital to wrapping up their entire 7 book relationship and they just left it out!

I couldn't agree more. The majority of the time I feel they did a great job at keeping crucial plot points in the films but this to me was a huge turning point and I think it is necessary. Given time constraints and such though they are still amazing movies. Can't complain too much (:

During the scene in the Pensieve near the end it is shown that Petunia didn't hate her sister, she was just sad that Lily was a witch while she was a muggle. This scene could have been left in and shown that Petunia DID care.

I'm certain that she felt some remorse for her sister being lost, but I doubt she would have ever said anything. And if she had, Harry wouldn't have accepted it for all of the years that she bad-mouthed Lily and James.

Yes keep that scene, and start the movie with the damn tea outside the door. The culmination of these acts I thought showed how Dudley had grown to be at least halfway decent considering he was raised to be horrible.

5 seconds is all it would have taken. And would have made such a huge difference. Considering how short the final two films were compared to the rest of the series, they could have afforded an extra 5 fucking seconds.

However for those who didn't read the books or don't remember that detail, a tea cup outside the door would probably be seen as a significant detail or foreshadowing and not a subtle indication of a mostly ignored character's emotional development.

It was so important in the book, becasue Harry is questioning Dumbledore's relationship with his sister. Did they treat her badly for not being a witch, as he was treated badly for being a wizard? And in the end even the Dursley's have some understanding.

But it is tough where it fits in for the movie, they don't really explore the whole Dumbledore/sister story to conflict with Harry story.

For this scene to have real meaning they would also have to give more time to Snape's memories in the second half. The would need to show how strong the relationship between Lily and Petunia really was at one point. Also Frankly, Snape's memories shouldn't have been shortened at all, anyway.

I loved the last movie, but I can't help but feel like they completely botched it. Part 1 was great; I liked the things they added, and understood what they removed. But with Part 2, absolute opposite. Everything they changed felt wrong. The entire ending from the procession onward felt wrong. The fact that they left out so many scenes that explored Dumbledore's past was...well, wrong. Bellatrix exploding into confetti instead of being hit by a killing curse? WRONG. I'm going to have hang-ups about it forever.

I hated the courtyard scene. No one really seemed to care that Harry died, meanwhile in the books everyone was flipping out. Ginny just shouted..... "NOOO...." That and Harry telling Hermione and Ron what he was going to do before he left.... Why???

Essentially, from the point Voldemort shows up at Hogwarts with a dead Harry, everything is changed.

Book: The students are all standing up to Voldemort. He keeps trying to put silencing curses on them, they keep failing, and it's explained that by Harry sacrificing himself so no one else would die, he has instilled the same protection on all of them as Lily had given him. Voldemort puts the sorting pat on Neville and sets it on fire. Neville breaks free of his body-bind curse, pulls sword out of hat, kills Nagini. Chaos ensues. Harry escapes under the cloak, students and Voldemort/death eaters move into great hall and commence battling. Voldemort's fighting three teachers; Luna, Ginny, and I think Hermoine are all fighting Bellatrix. Harry is running around under the cloak using shield charms to aid them. He reveals himself, gives a little speech to Voldemort explaining why the Elder Wand will fail him, then Voldemort's curse rebounds and kills him.

I was so disappointed in most of the movies, and what annoyed me most was how it seemed many other people thought they were good. I think the worst part of the DH2 ending debacle is that Harry snaps the wand after giving a huge speech about how epic the wand is. Also, Voldemorts fade out.

I think Petunia is one of my favorite characters. I feel like she does care for Harry, but it's just hard for her to show that because of the complexity of her relationship to Lily. I would love to get into her head to understand everything she is trying to work through.

The thought of HP being redone with complete editions on par with the extended LOTR movies both thrills me (at the thought of so much more content) and appalls me (you're not going to get Emma, Dan, Rupert, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith...EVERYONE who fit the parts so perfectly).

It's going to be a very long time before a redo of the 7 books is done. If anything, I think it'll be done as a TV-based miniseries.

But not for a long time. I'd guess 2030 at the earliest. It'd be done as a 7 season TV series where they'd have the flexibility to cover the books better, as well as filming flashbacks early on for consistency's sake.

Until a box set with complete deleted scenes comes out in a box set I'm holding off on a purchase. After reading though I don't think theres much extra content to even add to the films which is a shame. I'd love to see HP adapted into a tv show preferably on the BBC.

JK Rowling didn't want this scene in the movie. All this time Petunia showed hatred towards Lily to the extent to where she no longer considered her a sister. Hell, she despised Harry for his entire childhood. Rowling didn't want that one scene to change the audiences depiction of Petunia's anger at the magical world for taking her sister. I'm glad it wasn't in the movie. It does show feelings that we have never seen coming from Petunia, but it would have changed everything previously written about the two sisters.

okay, that i can see. my best friend and i actually took a look back at the book, and she doesn't say anything. she just lingers and awkwardly looks back at harry, then just says, "goodbye." this would have suited a movie better, but idk.

Do you honestly believe that the opening scene of Deathly Hallows is campy bullshit? You're perfectly entitled to your opinion, of course, but I found it to be a nearly flawless introduction into the final story.

Not necessarily, but if they put this at the end of the "montage" it wouldn't have "disrupted the pace" at all. The thing is they added a bunch of campy bullshit in all of the movies. I will say that both deathly hallows movies had the least amount, but seriously, why on earth do we need to see harry and hermione dancing, but cut out this scene that gives us a totally new perspective on a character (which, if you remember correctly, is what the book and the whole series is about)

They waxed everything that humanizes the Dursleys. They had to pick their battles. They added the scene with Hermoine and her parents, instead of simply having her retell it later. If I had to pick a scene to add back in, though, it would have been Dudley/Harry.

As for the Battle of Hogwarts. It was cool in the movie, and it side-stepped movie-watchers from ever saying, "Wait, if Harry buries the Elder Wand in Dumbledore's tomb, what's to prevent someone from stealing it. After all, that's what Voldemort did!" It's not cannon, which is funny in a movie that tried as hard to stick to cannon in so many places only to change up the ending super-drastically.

I wish they would have shortened the whole Harry and Voldemort take the flying duel around Howarts scene (which was not necessary AT ALL) and left in some of these quieter moments that showed real character development.

exactly. the whole series was supposed to show that everyone is human, and in sirius' words, "the world is not split up into good people and death eaters. we all have light and darkness in us." (not sure if canon)

But it really, really didn't! That's the thing. I haven't touched up on the seventh book for a while, so I maybe speaking out of turn here. However in the seventh book the Slytherins are basically the bad guys. They're excluded from almost any redemption. Hell, in the movie they go so far as to say "lead the Slytherins to the dungeon", in effect spelling it out as a white vs black world.

But at the end Narcissa is the one who saves Harry, and allows him to be carried back to the castle where he has a fighting chance again. Why, because she is human, she wants to protect her son like any mother. And as for redemption, well we do get a glimpse of a not-in-Azkaban Draco Malfoy when he's dropping off his son for school.

I really wish Petunia had more opportunity to express emotion. I thought she was such a complex character (her love/hate/jealousy relationship with Lily and the sadness after what happened, not to mention having to be married to Vernon, etc.) with so much potential.

anyone who says this scene shouldn't be in the movie needs to watch this. i just knew fiona shaw would have been able to say it in a way that humanized the character, but didn't detract from who petunia was. the whole series has an array of incredibly talented actors and writers all of whom did great justice to the characters j.k. created.

It would not have fixed anything, and wouldn't have changed the emotional baggage that Harry probably has to deal with, but it would have changed how I thought of her as a person [character]. There's a big difference between someone who can royally fuck up and admit it and someone who maintains the belief that they really were doing the right thing. And I think that was a big part of Petunia as a character--did she really believe that being a witch/wizard makes someone a freak of nature, or was she just jealous of her sister? Did she buy into everything that Vernon believed about the magical world, or was she agreeing with him because it was easier to feel accepted and understood by her husband? By marrying Vernon, she essentially closed herself off from the possibility of having any close contact with her sister, but she did allow Harry to stay with them. I doubt that Vernon's master plan when Harry was left on their doorstep was to rasie him and attempt to squash the magic out of him--I picture Petunia negotiating with Vernon and convincing him that it would work.

Oh, you lost a sister? Perhaps the way to have honored her memory would have been to take her child in and treat him properly. You know, instead of forcing him to live in the shadow of his cousin, calling him unnatural, and having him live under a fucking staircase.

Meh Petunia pretty much hated Lily. So I don't agree with the sentiment expressed here. She might have been a little bummed, but then again, do not forget that this woman still treated her nephew like absolute scum for 17 years after her sister died. If she was really that sad about it, she wouldn't have been so nasty.

I disagree. Film and novels are two different media. Often times in order to have an effective film, you need to add or subtract things. The end goal for those who make fins SHOULD be to make the film work on its own without requiring the audience to read prior to interacting with it. When novel adaptations arise the films should work hand in hand with the novels, perhaps lending deeper insight into the world of the novel. When movies try to stick too closely to source material, it's very hard to tell an effective film story because the two art forms are completely different and require different strategies.

So, she says she lost a sister and you all jump up and down like she's some sort of reformed child murderer?

She still tried to imprison Harry and encourage Dudleys bullying of him for the entire time he was there, and if he had turned out to be a squib with no magical powers, therefore not called to Hogwarts he would likely still have been kept there.

It's like the terribly acted scene with Dudleys attempt at redemption, only at least Dudleys was in the book.

I'm going to play devil's advocate and say that this scene is fine being left out. Yes, it's a nice scene. But in terms of how it would have fit in the movie, it would have completely ruined the pacing of that opening scene.

Anything that shows even a speck of good or heart in a villainous character is something they really needed to include. The real world isn't separated into saints and sinners, light and dark: everyone has something evil in them, just as no one is entirely bad. Too many children's stories fail to portray this, using stereotypical characters, it doesn't make children think, or perhaps show mercy and forgiveness, it doesn't help them understand redemption and rehabilitation.

The way she found out her sister died, not from a phone call or a visit by the police department, but by her nephew on her doorstep and a letter from a magical society. Also the fact that she was murdered says a lot also. Having a relative or friend die from cancer or a car accident is one thing because it is normal. Having a relative or friend that was murdered is a whole other deal.

Everyone here seems to think it should have stayed in, but I'm not sure I do. Petunia had no love for her sister and this scene makes it seem as though she did. Sure, she loved her when they were kids, but not later in life.

lol i love the fact that i got 19 downvotes for stating the obvious (that it's not in the book - go ahead downvote again..)

as far as whether or not it should be in the movie, i still think it's too obvious. the thing that makes the scene with petunia saying goodbye poignant is the fact that she can't say what she feels. to have her vocalise it is to go all hollywood and overplay an understated scene.

ah very true. didn't mean to argue that, but I'm just not so sure that Petunia completely hated her. lol. I'm gonna blame this feeling on the literature class I took covering the books. I had to do a report on the mothers of HP. Petunia and Narcissa were my choices because they had such a diverse change of character at certain points. Overall, I agree that she generally hated her sister, but deep down she just wanted to be like her as well and probably still loved her very much.

well then we're gonna have to argue about what exactly love is. if she loved her sister surely she wouldn't have mistreated harry for all his life. the only dursley who cared for harry was dudley (in the last book).

not quite true on either accounts at least in some ways. You can love one person but absolutely hate something from them. In this case, Harry. It's almost similar to how Snape disliked Harry because he was from James, but in Petunia's case it was because he also had magic.
Also, there at the end, just as Dudley was the bigger man and shook Harry's hand, if you go back with a fine tooth comb, you'll see that Petunia almost says something to him as well, but she' just can't for whatever reason. Still the fact that she thought about is enough to show that, she didn't completely hate Harry too.

As for Dudley, if Harry hadn't saved his life, and if he hadn't been humiliated so many times he would have been just as cruel to him in the end. His character needed these events to be a redeemable character in the end.

Still, I think the major problems with these ideas of love and hate are that were trying to define them so tightly. You can love something deep down, but act as though you hate it and you can hate something deep down but still try to help it. Or so I'd like to think.

I agree, she didn't necessarily hate her, she was jealous. It might have grown into a hatred, but still, that doesn't mean that she wouldn't have been sad to hear about Lily's death. Even if she normally doesn't show it.

It seemed more to me that Harry represented that life she could never have. She wanted to have powers just like her sister, who she was pretty close to (the memories in the pensieve show that), and she never developed them. So she pushed her sister away because of her jealousy, and now she has to raise her son, who brings her back into the world of magic and makes her realize anew the world that she can't ever be a part of.

But I agree that she does mask how much Lily's death affects her. Also, she's married to Vernon Dursley, who is perhaps the least magical person ever born, and Petunia showing feelings for her sister, "the freak", and her son, would annoy him.

true. maybe harry served as a constant reminder of the memory of both james and lily. harry looked just like james (who we all know petunia hated) but he had lily's eyes, so maybe after lily died, and every time she looked in harry's eyes, all she could see was the eyes of her dead sister, and be reminded of everything she regretted saying or not saying.

Why?
Why should this be in the movie?
Even if one might belive Petunia felt this way (she did loose sister after all), she never gave a hint of feeling this way in the books.
The Dudley part should have been in the movie though.

That mofo Yates messed up the last movies so much I wanted to snort sulphyric acid and off myself.